THE biggest issue and road-block for the country’s development aspirations is income and revenue generation, which placed the 2020 budget as “business as usual”.
The budget also lacked vision.
That’s according to the MP for East Are’are Peter Kenilorea Jr. He was speaking on the Sine Die motion in parliament, Tuesday.
“This is where we need to place more focus on in order to raise revenue,” Kenilorea said.
While he we on to congratulate the Government for passing the 2020 budget, Kenilorea said that is still business as usual.
He further stressed that that “we can run the risk of falling back into the budget as business as usual”.
“We have a projected income and then we fashioned our expenditure accordingly and that has been the case for our nation since independence as pointed out by the Prime Minister.
“What I feel it lacks is vision and of course the vision is linked to government policies.
“We the vision that is easily transferable or realized to be understood by Solomon Islanders who need buy into this vision and help this nation to move forward,” Kenilorea said.
He further pointed out that the 2020 budget is public service oriented but it has to give a sense of direction of where this country is heading so that the private sector at least know where we are heading.
“Rural development should be the ministry of rural innovation and science and technology that is visionary.
“Infrastructure should get the bulk of resources, that is common sense and visionary,” Kenilorea said.
He also reminded the Government that job creation should be a whole of government approach and should have been placed in the budget and that would be a budget as usual.
“It would be more than business as usual if China dramatically increased the budgetary support including in tripling their RCDF component,” Kenilorea said.
He added that no matter how one spins it the 2020 Budget is just another business as usual budget
“I can support a budget but can still call it business as usual.”
By ANDREW FANASIA
